Herbert Wigwe, group managing director/CEO, Access Holding Plc, Benedict Oramah, president, Afreximbank, and Ade Ayeyemi, group CEO Ecobank Transnational Incorporated made the list of African Banker of the Year Award.
Also in the list were Adesola Adeduntan, managing director/CEO of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Mukwandi Chibesakunda of Zambia National Commercial Bank, Admassu Tadesse from Trade and Development Bank, and Vivienne Yeda, of East African Development Bank.
African Banker magazine on April 27, 2022, in London, announced the shortlist of nominees for this year’s edition of the African Banker Awards.
The African Banker Awards are a landmark annual event for African banking taking place during the annual meetings of the African Development Bank. Organised by African Banker magazine and IC Events in co-operation with BusinessinAfrica Events, the African Banker Awards celebrate excellence and best practices in African banking.
The theme of the overall AfDB Annual Meetings this year is “Achieving Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition for Africa”.
This year the African Banker Awards committee added two new categories, FinTech of the Year and DFI (Development Finance Institutions) of the Year. These categories acknowledge the significant role of DFIs as key actors in the post-pandemic recovery and also how the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation in banking and financial services. “We saw everyone turbo charge their digital presence and FinTechs have become key players in the banking sphere,” says Omar Ben Yedder, publisher of African Banker magazine and chair of the awards committee.
Read also: Access Bank promotes 800 employees after transitions to Holdco structure
In total, 64 nominees were announced, representing banks, financial institutions and technology providers from across the African continent. “We received a record number of nominations for this year’s edition of the Awards. My favourite categories are the Deals of the Year. They show that there is concrete action to tackle some of the most pressing issues on the continent, notably power and infrastructure,” says Ben Yedder.
Asked what his address will focus on at this year’s awards, he says that his remarks will “centre around the theme of banking sovereignty and ensuring we have greater autonomy to be able to support our own growth and development, be it in banking, in payment systems, in data and in empowering our development institutions on the continent.”
Under the category of ‘African Bank of the Year Award’, Access Bank, Bank of Industry, Ecobank, Guaranty Trust Bank, and the Standard Bank Group made the list. Also included were Attijariwafa Bank and Bank of Africa.
Furthermore, under the category of ‘Sustainable Bank of the Year Award’, the nominees include Standard Chartered, Rand Merchant Bank, Commercial International Bank, Nedbank, and Trade and Development Bank.
In 2021, Wigwe was declared the winner of the African Banker of the year award for the second consecutive time, by the African Banker Magazine.
Access bank is the largest retail bank in Africa with over 40 million customers. The bank’s entry into African markets was recognised by the panel of judges at the African Banker Magazine.
Responding to the award via zoom, Wigwe was pleased with the award, saying it was supported by the bank’s strong team.
He said the bank was focused on promoting corporate discipline, adding that the bank wants to be in key markets in the continent, building payment gateway and providing trade finance support.
